How Oranges Came to Symbolize Love
by ElvishJedi
Summary: He bit his lower lip, eying his friend as if he had finally gone off the deep end. Which he might have actually done, it was just you could never tell with Sirius. Oneshot. Warning: RemusSirius VERY MILD SLASH malemale


Warning: Mild SLASH. Male/male. Don't like, don't read, please don't complain.

Sirius was sprawled out in a reckless fashion on his dormitory bed, legs kicked out wide and dark hair flopping over the crimson bed cover. His face was intent and completely absorbed, examining the object he held in his hands with the absolute eagerness of a child that was committed to figuring out a new toy. He ran his soft fingertips over its round and bumpy surface, feeling the ridges and planes that formed its skin, his eyes avidly focusing on the item as if there were some mysterious, unfathomable power buried inside it that he could not figure out how to attain.

"Sirius," Remus interrupted, his voice slightly exasperated, more than a little bit baffled and with just a hint of well-concealed curiosity. "Sorry to interrupt your…er, moment, but why do you look as if you're just about to snog that orange?"

Sirius didn't answer for a moment, and Remus figured he was too focused on the fruit to notice anything else, when he said, "It's just…so…_orange_." His voice was wistful as he continued to gaze at it.

"Mmhm…" Remus said, skeptically. He bit his lower lip, eying his friend as if he had finally gone off the deep end. Which he might have actually done, it was just you could never tell with Sirius. He went back and forth so often it was nearly impossible to make a proper assessment of his sanity. "Well," Remus said, in a noble effort to put some reason back into the conversation, "I'm glad to learn you aren't color blind like your doggy counterpart, but it is called an orange, you know. That's probably why."

"But see," Sirius lowered the orange and shifted so that his head was upside down, hanging off the edge of the bed, "that's just it. Did they name the color orange after the fruit or the fruit after the color?"

_Only Sirius_. "And this is what has been bothering you?" Sirius had been acting strangely the past week; much more quiet and in a way that unnerved Remus, however grateful he might be for the more peaceful atmosphere.

The fact was, that since James had started hanging out more with Lily, Sirius had become his only constant companion, because Peter seemed much more interested in either tagging after James (even though it was clear after Peter had come running into the dormitory sporting a large, bubbling purple rash on his face that James wanted him nowhere near him while he was with Lily) or trying to win over his own girlfriend. Thus, Sirius was his sole source of un-educational entertainment. Normally this would be no problem whatsoever, seeing as Sirius was so hyper he could be sugar personified, and was constantly begging Remus to do something with him, except that dear Padfoot had made a spectacular 180 degree turn in temperament since last Thursday.

He was not as talkative as usual, bordering on the possibility of being described as aloof. It was as if he were depressed about something, and Remus had asked him a few times if it was because James was hanging around with Lily, but Sirius had adamantly denied this with a strength in his tone that had made Remus believe him.

Besides his general despondency, Sirius was also much more…odd. Like the whole orange thing that was going on right then. He would become engrossed in entirely insignificant and silly subjects, and Remus felt somewhat obliged to humor him, seeing as the one time he had told Sirius to shut up and say something of actual intelligence, Sirius had become positively gloomy, and he hadn't looked Remus in the eye for the rest of the day (at the time, Sirius had been wondering if the Giant Squid would sire any offspring, and then how could it if there's no female Giant Squid in there?--and then is the squid actually a girl or boy, by chance?--Because how long can it live, really, and then Hogwarts would not have any Giant Squid and then it would be a Hogwarts Without a Giant Squid and there's no risk in trying to go swimming then, is there, and then there's just no fun if there's no possibility of getting strangled to death by a huge sploshy, squishy, sucky arm, is there?). Although this was quite a normal, Sirius thing to say, and an equally normal Remus answer, the way Sirius had reacted to it was much unexpected.

"No," Sirius answered Remus, jarring him out of his momentary flashback with an irritable edge to his voice. With a sigh, he swung himself up into a sitting position, facing Remus but keeping his head down. His ruffled hair hung around his face, obscuring Remus' view of his expression, but he could see the tips of Sirius' mouth turned down slightly, frowning and distressed. He fingered the orange still, eyes fixed on it as it lay in his lap.

Remus fought the urge to sigh, faced once again with an extremely moody Sirius. The typical thing to say next would be, "Then what is bothering you?" but Sirius was far from typical, and Remus knew it would be useless to ask. If Sirius wanted him to know, he would've known a week ago when this all started, so as it stood, Remus would have to figure it out for himself. "Is it anything at all to do with fruit?" Remus asked nonetheless, as he could think of nothing else to say without an obvious change of subject, and he thought it might lighten the mood a bit.

On the contrary, it just seemed to upset Sirius more, as he made a sort of strangled noise, ceased his petting of the orange and looked up at Remus, his eyes wide. Remus stared back, shocked at his reaction and completely confused. Sirius seemed to notice that Remus had no idea what he had said, and his muscles relaxed as he let out a sigh, letting out a hoarse laugh. "It's nothing, Remus," he smiled slightly and stood up, stretching as the orange dropped back onto the bed. "Want to go pick up something to eat?"

"Besides that orange?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow and grinning, glad that Sirius had abandoned the melancholy that had threatened to overtake him, however abrupt and unpredictable the change had been.

Sirius opened and closed his mouth, glancing at the orange over his shoulder. "Yeah, I was growing tired of it anyway." He walked out the door and Remus hurried to follow.

Sirius Black was once again lying on his dormitory bed, legs spread-eagled, but he was not examining a seemingly fascinating orange. His hands were tangled in his hair as he stared up at the bed curtains, his expression unreadable.

This was how Remus Lupin found him when he entered the dorm, tossing and catching an orange in his hands. He walked up to the end of Sirius' bed and looked inquiringly at his friend. Sirius had propped himself up on his elbows and squinted up at Remus, until he took notice of the orange.

Brow furrowed in confusion, he asked, "Why do you have an orange?"

Remus looked surprised, and then glanced down in his hand at the fruit in question. "Oh, yes. Well, I was just wondering whether they named the fruit after the color or the color after the fruit."

Sirius' mouth was agape as he stared at Remus in disbelief. "Are you mocking me?"

Remus blinked, and looked befuddled. "No. Isn't this what you do when you have a crush on someone?"

This time Sirius coughed, nearly choking, his eyes popping out. "I—what? I don't—do you? I—"

Remus laughed, tossing the orange at Sirius, which he failed to catch, and it rolled off the bed and onto the floor. "Well, there goes a perfectly good orange," he said as he sat down across from Sirius, one leg folded underneath him. Sirius just continued to stare at Remus, incredulous. The corner of Remus' lip rose as he stared back.

"I—" Sirius cleared his throat and sat up, and he looked nervous. "Do you really—"

"Yes," Remus said.

"And you know—"

"Yes."

"And you're sure—"

"_Yes_," Remus insisted, leaning in.

"Then, you—" Sirius moved in to meet Remus.

"_Definitely_," Remus whispered, before claiming Sirius' lips with his.

A/N: Fruit being a term for gay, although I'm not completely sure it's British. Reviews are cherished.


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